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By Broken Rites researchers

Many victims of church child-sex abuse remain silent about their experiences, but some Australian survivors eventually learn that they have the right to have a chat with detectives in their state's police force. In Australia (unlike in some other countries), it is relatively easy for a church victim to bring an abusive clergy-person to justice in the criminal-court system. If the abusive clergy-person is still alive (and if the victim so wishes), the police detectives can charge this clergy-person in court. In Australia (unlike is some other countries), it does not matter how long ago the child-abuse crime occurred.

Thus, an Australian court case can expose the offending clergy-person (and the church's cover-up) while obtaining justice for the victim. In Australia, the media can publish the name of the offender but cannot publish the name (or any other identifying details) of the victim.

If the victim notifies Broken Rites about the forthcoming court case, Broken Rites can watch out for the case's first preliminary mention in court. These cases begin with a "first-mention" in court, and the case then goes on the court's waiting list with the main hearing to be held perhaps some months later.

The Broken Rites website has many such articles about forthcoming, or recent, court cases. You will find these articles scattered among the earliest pages on our website. To start, click HERE.

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About Us

Since 1993, Broken Rites Australia has been researching the cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Too often, the church supported the offending clergy while ignoring the victims. For example, Broken Rites has shown how the church shielded the criminal priest Father Gerald Ridsdale for 32 years without reporting his crimes to the police. Finally, in 1993, some Father Ridsdale victims contacted the police. These victims also contacted the newly-formed Broken Rites.
This photo demonstrates why Broken Rites was needed. In the photo, Catholic priest Gerald Ridsdale (left, in sunglasses and hat) walks to court, accompanied by his support person (a bishop), when Father Ridsdale was pleading guilty to his first batch of criminal charges in May 1993. But no bishop accompanied the victims, who felt deserted by the church leaders. Therefore, since 1993, Broken Rites research has supported many of the Catholic Church's victims, as shown on this website. Read More